Britain's Cameron to curb access to welfare by foreigners

Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to curb access to welfare, housing and free health care for non-Britons, as political parties jostle to persuade voters they understand concerns over mass immigration.

Cameron set out measures yesterday to restrict the rights of foreigners to claim unemployment benefits after six months.

He said local governments will be expected to make at least two years' residence a requirement for qualifying for social housing, and the state-run National Health Service will be stricter about charging foreigners who are in Britain temporarily.

With Britain's economy stagnating, politicians of all stripes have been seeking to assuage voter concerns about the possible effects of immigration on the labour market, public services and housing. Cameron's Conservative Party came third in a House of Commons special election in Eastleigh last month, behind the anti-immigration UK Independence Party.

The prime minister says he wants to cut net annual immigration below 100,000.

"I have always understood the genuine concerns of hard-working people, including many in our migrant communities, who worry about uncontrolled immigration," he said in a speech in Ipswich, eastern England.

As part of the measures announced yesterday, citizens of other European Union countries and some other western European nations will only be able to claim six months' unemployment benefit from next year unless they can show they have a genuine chance of finding work.